.458 Build in Progress!

[Shoot-N-Nut]

Ok guys Im in to this build and thought I'd share a few of the first pictures. I have a lot of metal work and wood work left to do. Lyman receiver sight is mounted and ready to go. Front ring, recoil lug and about two inches of the barrel have been steel bedded. Rear ring has been glass bedded. Front pillar is installed and glassed in. I still have to fit the banded front sight and the Talley barrel band sling mount. I still have to cut about another inch off the forearm and cut it down for the barrel band. The barrel has been cut and crowned at 20".

For the ones who are not fimilar with the .458 Win Mag.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v430/jdmarksberry/P9070168.jpg
Left to right: .223, .308Win, .270Win, .30-06Springfield, 7mm Rem Mag, .300Win Mag, .350Rem Mag, .348Win Mag and the .458Win Mag

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v430/jdmarksberry/P9070014.jpg
Thats a 24" 12ga Remington 870 and thats not a bull barrel on that rifle!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v430/jdmarksberry/P8290162.jpg
Donar action (from pawn shop, $125 out the door!) started off an older .300Win Mag with flat reciever and regular trigger.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v430/jdmarksberry/P9070012.jpg
A full 1/2" diameter pillar glass bedded with a counter sunk bolt head.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v430/jdmarksberry/P9070011.jpg
Base for the Lyman 57 reciever sight ready for action.

One last thing I have to do before I start working the stock is to drill and bed the crossbolt behind the recoil lug. Give me a few days and I'll post somemore as I get it together.

[mbruk]

Awesome, working on one myself!

[bootsmcguire]

Just got rid of mine. You will have fun with it.

[fgw_in_fla]

458 WIN MAG?!?!?!

What do you do?.... Tie yourself to a tree to shoot it?!?!

What's the recoil like? I shot a 338 Lapua mag without a muzzle brake on it & I couldn't use my right arm for a week. I thought it would knock me off the bench.

What's that like? Holding a 105 Howitzer on your shoulder?

Good luck with it. Looks pretty good so far.

Frank in Fla

[bootsmcguire]

Mine wasn't too bad. I had a good recoil pad on it and a brake on it of my own design that really tamed the recoil. Felt like a 30-06 with a stiff load.

[Shoot-N-Nut]

I love the big bores! The worst thing about this one is going to be the weight, should be right on 7 lbs.

[thomae]

Awesome, working on one myself!

I also.

[yorketransport]

Looks good!

I had a 458 for a couple years and it was a lot of fun. Mine weighed 8# with the scope and it was pretty manageable to shoot. Besides, you don't need to run it full power all the time. Downloaded to about 450 Marlin velocities it was very versatile and fun.

Andrew

[handirifle]

Pretty cool looking rifle. Where exactly does the cross bolt go through? Behind the recoil lug? To add some weight to it, you could use some Forstner bits and drill out a few areas under the barrel, and add lead weight. Also some more lead in the butt of the stock. The forend weight will help keep muzzle flip down, and the buttstock, to absorb the rest of the punishment er I meant recoil. You ought to be able to get it to around 9lbs that way.

[thomae]

What's the best way to go about installing the barrel banded sling swivel mount and front sight?

[skypilot]

I love the big bores! The worst thing about this one is going to be the weight, should be right on 7 lbs.

Probably will be a one man gun!! I have 375 H&H synthetic @ about 8 lbs and none of my friends will shoot it again, but it is a lefty. It's really too light and seems like it kills on both ends.

[Shoot-N-Nut]

What's the best way to go about installing the barrel banded sling swivel mount and front sight?

The banded swivel mount and front sight aint to bad to install. You have to locate the spot on the barrel where they will be located and measure it. The bands come in a variety of sizes and they are straight through not tappered, so you have to determin what size you need based on the location on your barrel. I have several tappered reamers I normally use if I have one close enough, if not you have to do some hand work to open it up to fit the barrel. A Dremel tool with a small drum sander works, just take your and go slow and keep checking the diameter with calipers till you get it close enough. You have to clean and degrease the barrel well, I like to use some 800 grit paper to clean the area up. A little 609 Loctite and drive it in to place like a pressed fit. I useally heat the band up a little before driving it on to give it a good tight fit. Ive seen some of the front sights that have a set screw under the sight insert to help hold it in place.

[thomae]

Thanks for sharing your method/technique. That may help me with my build in the future.

[acemisser]

makes for an awesome chipmonk rifle..one never knows when one will decide to attack...

[Shoot-N-Nut]

Where exactly does the cross bolt go through? Behind the recoil lug?

Yea, its just one more little insurance policy against recoil. This stock is all handmade and hand inlet. It was made from a piece of 100 year old walnut that came from my grandfathers old barn, it was some old growth tight grain very well seasoned wood. It does have unique color stripes in it and a little bit of curl. I have to many hours in makeing this stock to risk having it split from recoil!

[Shoot-N-Nut]

Ok, stock is fully inlet, glass and steel bedded, cross bolt bedded, banded front swivel mount installed on barrel, custom barrel band fit and ready for finish, recoil pad fit (I started to use a steel butt plate and had second thoughts thinking about a 7lb rifle that kicks!), first coat of oil has been applied to the stock (I cut tung oil 50/50 with turpinetine and really soak the stock inside and out with a sponge to get the oil in deep). I still need to fit and install the front sight and get the metal finished, Im using Dura Coat, a mixture of 3 parts gun blue and 1 part gloss black (it looks just like blued steel), then to get the grain filled and the stock finished and we'll be ready to throw some lead down range!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v430/jdmarksberry/P9240023_zpsacf89e54.jpg

[thomae]

Wow. Really nice work.
I do have a few questions.
1. What was your thought process on not putting a cross bolt behind the rear action screw? I know there is not much room there, but that is another location that may be prone to splitting.

2. Have you considered drilling into the hand grip/wrist area from the inside and epoxying in a metal rod to strengthen that part of the stock?

3. Also, I thought the purpose of the barrel mounted sling swivel mount was to keep it from hitting one's hand during recoil. Although I like the barrel band you made, with that on the rifle, don't you run the same risk of injury to your forward hand?

4. With two forward sling mounts, are you planning to use a stock mounted bipod or are you setting yourself up for something like the Ching-sling?

Please don't take my questions as criticism; I'm simply trying to get in your head and figure out your thought process so I can work through the same, or similar, issues when I build mine.

I really like the stock you built. I have woodworking skills, but am not up to making my own gunstocks just yet.

Again, very nice work. Thank you for sharing.

[Shoot-N-Nut]

The first rifle I ever built back in the late 70's was a 45-70 built on a Simease action. I used a semi sporterized military stock and left the rear barrel band on it to make it like a true carbine style rifle. After all these years I wanted to build another one, the first one is long gone. But evidently its pretty much impossible to get a Savage bolt face to work with the 45-70, several here suggested a .450 Marlin but barrels for them are not readily availible, Brownells carries the .458 barrels in stock no waiting and it has a few pluses over the .450 Marlin (in my opinion) because there is a larger choice of brass and ammo out there for the .458, the .458 can be handloaded down to the ranges of the 45-70 and .450 Marlin and still have the ability to step up to a round that can be used anywhere in the World to hunt anything you want. So this rifle style is pruely sentimental to me. I put the banded sling mount on the barrel to give me a few extra inches, I like to wrap my sling when shooting and as short as this rifle and forearm is every inch helps, that and Im not a big fan of mounting the sling to the barrel band so there is no sling mount on this band. There is a 3/8 by 3/8" steel block thats 1.250" long that is steel bedded behind the recoil lug, the only part you see on the outside of the stock is the 1/4" threaded screws that go into that block which are J&B welded into the block so they wont come out then the heads are cut down flush with the stock. The recoil lug, front ring, barrel nut and a couple inches of the barrel are all steel bedded, there is a 1/2" steel pillar steel bedded for the front stock bolt and a 3/8" steel pillar bedded for the rear stock bolt. The rear ring, sides of the action, rear tang and inside the area inlet for the trigger are all glass bedded with Acraglas with the fiberglass flock added to it, so I dont think the rear cross bolt will be an issue with this one.

[thomae]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. My bad...In the picture, to me the bottom of the barrel band (I presume where it screws together) looks like a swivel mount.

It all sounds good...I am looking forward to seeing the completed project.

Again, thanks for sharing.

[Shoot-N-Nut]

Yea it clamps together at the bottom, I used a Ruger barrel band as a model. There is room I could have used one of the Ruger sling mounts that goes in the slot between the two.